At this point, I have cooked more roast chickens 🐓 than I can recall. Some wildly successful, others wildly stressful- leaving me near tears because I did not know any better. Now that you have this recipe, you do not have to make the same mistakes that I did and instead cook a beautiful roast chicken that will leave everyone in awe. I call this a "Marry Me Roast Chicken". I am not exactly sure why I gave it such an endearing name, considering I have only graced this dish to my parents, but I imagine if one wants a recipe that will impress someone special, this would be it. Pair it with my instant pot mashed potatoes and you will have an incredible meal in no time.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken 🐓
1 fennel bulb, cut into wedges (optional)
1 white onion 🧅 , roughly chopped
chopped carrots 🥕 or baby carrots
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
fresh thyme sprigs
fresh rosemary
1 head garlic 🧄 , cut in half, and 3 more cloves
2 lemons 🍋, 1 cut in half, and 1 cut into wedges
1 bay leaf
baby potatoes 🥔 (optional)
celery (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
Remove any chicken giblets then thoroughly rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat the outside dry. I suggest letting the chicken sit out for an hour; to ensure that the skin is dry and will crisp up nicely in the oven.
Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with thyme, bay leaf, both halves of lemon 🍋 , and the halved garlic 🧄 bulb. In a small bowl combine melted butter, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter mixture. Try to pour some under the skin as well.
Tie the legs together with kitchen string and carefully tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
Arrange the roughly chopped onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots 🥕, celery, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and olive oil. Place the chicken on top of the vegetable rack (this will serve as ventilation).
Bake in the oven for an hour and a half. When it has reached an internal temp of 165º F the chicken will be ready to eat. Another way to tell if a chicken is done is that the bones should pull apart easily.
Baste the chicken with au jus/drippings or make a gravy out of the drippings by slowly adding some cornstarch mixed with water to thicken it.
Chef's Notes:
You can replace butter with olive oil. This will create a just as beautiful golden brown and crispy skin, if you are looking for a healthier alternative.